The following are some of this week's reports from the MEMRI Jihad and Terrorism Threat Monitor (JTTM) Project, which translates and analyzes content from sources monitored around the clock, among them the most important jihadi websites and blogs. (To view these reports in full, you must be a paying member of the JTTM; for membership information, send an email to jttmsubs@memri.org with "Membership" in the subject line.)
Note to media and government: For a full copy of these reports, send an email with the title of the report in the subject line to media@memri.org. Please include your name, title, and organization in your email.
On January 29, 2025, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, described as the "leader of the new Syrian administration," delivered an address titled "Victory Speech."
On January 29, 2025, a "Convention to Announce the Victory of the Syrian Revolution" was held in Damascus, where Ahmed Al-Sharaa aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, who had served as leader of jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), was announced interim president of Syria.
On January 20, 2025, a group of the Syrian militant factions linked to Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) released an English-language "Statement by the New Administration of Syria Congratulating President Donald J. Trump on his Inauguration."
On January 25, 2025, a Syrian human rights group reported that prior to the withdrawal of Iran-backed militias from Syria, their operatives met with Islamic State (ISIS) fighters, and possibly coordinated a plan to "create chaos in different regions of Syria."
On January 29, 2025, several Telegram channels supporting Iran-backed militias in Iraq shared a report by the Swedish media claiming that Iraqi refugee Salwan Momika, who publicly burned copies of the Quran on several occasions, was shot to death in his apartment in the Swedish city of Södertälje, near Stockholm.
EXCLUSIVE: Dari-Language Media Report Identifies Six Taliban Leaders With Close Ties To IRGC
A Dari-language report titled "Six Pro-Iran Commanders Surrounding The Taliban Leader" in the Afghanistan International media outlet has revealed the identities of six senior Taliban leaders who have close ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) and surround the Afghan Taliban leader, influencing his day-to-day decisions.
On January 28, 2025, a group of the Syrian militant factions, led by Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), reported on Telegram that HTS leader Ahmed Al-Sharaa aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, described as the "leader of the new Syrian administration," and the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the HTS-led Syrian transitional government, met with a Palestinian delegation headed by the prime minister of the Palestinian Authority and its Minister of Foreign Affairs.
On January 24, 2025, an Islamic Resistance front in Syria issued a statement claiming its first operation against Israeli forces in southern Syria, the alleged downing of an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) drone.
On January 22, 2025, state-run Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) released a photoset showing a Syrian Coast Guard patrol in Syria's territorial waters near Arwad island, in the Tartus governorate.
On January 29, 2025, the Foreign Ministry of the new Syrian administration, linked to jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), reported that the Foreign Minister and the Defense Minister met with a United Nations Under-Secretary-General and a Major-General.
Unconfirmed Report: Body Of Kidnapped Syrian Female Professor Found, Her Fingers Cut Off
On January 25, 2025, the Homs Security Department denied that a woman was found murdered, asserting that the search for her was still ongoing.
In recent days, supporters of Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) have reported and documented preaching campaigns run by women in various parts of Syria which had been under the control of the Assad regime, in which garb was distributed to hundreds of women who committed to begin wearing it.
On January 22, 2025, a Syrian media outlet shared a 12-second video, showing armed men in uniform marching in the city of Deir Al-Zour, in a military parade.
A Syrian resistance group opposed to Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) called on HTS fighters to defect from the organization.
Pro-Hamas Outlet Solicits Donations From Egyptians Via Mobile's Cash Wallet
On January 29, 2025, a Telegram outlet supporting Hamas published a post soliciting donations from Egypt.
On January 22, 2025, the White House released an order signed by newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump setting in motion a process by which Yemen's Ansar Allah (Houthi) movement will be considered for designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
On January 22, 2025, newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump set in motion a process by which Yemen's Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) will be considered for designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
On January 25, 2025, President Donald Trump stated that he had spoken to the king of Jordan to urge that country to admit more Palestinians, suggesting that Gazans should leave the Gaza Strip to "clean out" the enclave.
On January 25, 2025, Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (Houthis) published a nine-minute video, as well as photos, documenting a live-fire military exercise held in Sa'dah province.
On January 23, 2025, a Yemeni newspaper published a short report claiming that "prominent leaders" in Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah Movement (the Houthis) had left the capital Sanaa due to "political and military changes in the arena."
January 26, 2025, marked the end of the 60-day ceasefire agreed to on November 27, 2024, by Israel and Hizbullah in Lebanon.
On November 27, 2024, Lebanese Hizbullah concluded a ceasefire with Israel.
On January 21, 2025, the online portal of a Saudi-owned network published a report containing remarks by a Hizbullah officer admitting, in a small forum of Hizbullah members, that the organization was surprised at the level of intelligence Israel gathered, enabling it to destroy most facilities and tunnels Hizbullah had built since 2006 preparing for war against Israel.
On January 27, 2025, at the conclusion of the 60-day ceasefire between Israel and Hizbullah in Lebanon that was signed on November 27, 2024, and following an announcement by the White House on the January 26 about the extension of the ceasefire until February 18, 2025, Secretary-General of Lebanese Hizbullah, sheikh Na'im Qassem, delivered an approximately 50-minute televised speech.
On January 25, 2025, a new Iraqi militia belonging to the "Islamic Resistance," issued a brief statement declaring it would soon begin military operations against the new Syrian administration linked to jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), in retaliation for atrocities it allegedly perpetrated against members of the country's Alawite and Shi'ite minorities.
On January 23, 2025, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 479 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'.
On January 22, 2025, an anti-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet, published a post claiming that the arrest of ISIS-linked individuals accused of planning an attack on Al-Sayyidah Zaynab, a Shi'ite shrine and pilgrimage site in Damascus, Syria, proves the "recklessness" of the group command, which continues to chase "victories" for the media.
On January 24, 2025, the Islamic State's (ISIS) official news agency issued a statement claiming that ISIS operatives dealt a "harsh security blow" to Iraqi forces in a "well-executed operation" in the Al-Taremiyah district north of Baghdad.
On January 23, 2025, the Islamic State (ISIS) released issue 479 of its weekly newsletter, Al-Naba'.
On January 25, 2025, a platform that publishes and spreads official Islamic State (ISIS) material, promoted a new Telegram bot tasked with "guiding" and "communicating" with disaffected members of Syrian jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) who wish to join ISIS.
Islamic State (ISIS) Supporters Launch German-Language Media Outlets To 'Incite' Muslims In The West
On January 19, 2025, a user of an Islamic State (ISIS)-operated server launched a German-language channel on the platform.
On January 27 and 28, 2025, Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) claimed killing and wounding some 60 Nigerian soldiers and pro-government militiamen in the country's northeastern Borno state.
A new initiative affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) has been continuing its outreach to members of the new Syrian administration linked to rival jihadi group Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), seeking to convince them to defect and join ISIS.
A Telegram bot supportive of the Islamic State (ISIS) released a poster arguing that foreign fighters in Syria were betrayed by the leader of Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS).
Pro-Islamic State (ISIS) Outlet Releases Step-By-Step Guide To Manufacture Explosive Materials
A pro-Islamic State (ISIS) media outlet released an English-language audio recording detailing the process of making TNT for use in a "vest bomb."
On January 26, 2025, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel issued several statements claiming attacks against two armies and Russia's Wagner private military company (PMC).
On January 27, 2025, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Somalia, Harakat Al-Shabab Al-Mujahideen (Al-Shabab), issued a statement claiming that Al-Shabab operatives detonated an explosion targeting a military convoy that had departed from an air base in Somalia's Lower Shabelle province.
Al-Qaeda Affiliate GSIM Publishes Photos Of Its Da'wah Activities In Mali's Koulikoro
On January 29, 2025, the media arm of Al-Qaeda's affiliate in the African Sahel released a photoset documenting the group's da'wah (inviting to Islam) activities in Koulikoro area, Mali.
On January 28, 2025, the official media arm of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), released an approximately two-and-a-half-minute video by its affiliated media outlet, titled "America and the Painful Punishment."
On January 28, 2025, a two-page statement was released in the name of Al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate titled "And whoever wages jihad, only does so for their own good. Surely Allah is not in need of His creation" (Quran 29:6), announcing the group's dissolution at the order of Al-Qaeda's Central Command.
Canada-based pro-Al-Qaeda cleric continues to voice criticism of Syria's largest jihadi group, Hay'at Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS), and its leader, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, aka Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, for abandoning jihad as the path for liberation, and for adopting man-made laws dictated by the West.
In a speech at a madrassa in Kabul, Afghan Taliban spokesman said that the Muslims' lack of education, notably that of the Palestinians in Gaza, is the cause of their miseries in modern times.
On January 14, 2025, a pro-Afghan Taliban YouTube channel released a Dari-language interview of the Afghan wife of an Iraqi member of Al-Qaeda who is in the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
In a Pashtu-language article, former mujahideen commander and leader of an Afghan political party, described the Gaza ceasefire as a victory for Palestinians and a surrender by Israel, noting also that Hamas has not only remained active and strong but had also executed effective attacks in recent days.
On January 22, 2025, Hizb-ut-Tahrir Afghanistan published a Pashtu-language article commemorating the fall of the Ottoman Caliphate, an event which it says has exposed Muslims worldwide to "massacre, occupation, and plunder of the unbeliever West, the Barbaric Jews, and America."
